From Newsweek dated Sep 29, 2008
http://www.newsweek.com/id/160097
My Five Most Important Crime Novels
1.
"
The Long Goodbye
" by Raymond Chandler. A melancholic ode to loss and the passage of time.
2.
"
The Burglar
" by David Goodis. Hypnotic prose and a shocking ending. Call it pulp if you have the need to. It's disturbing art.
3.
"The Last Good Kiss" by James Crumley. The post-Vietnam stunner that reinvigorated the genre and jacked up a generation of future crime novelists.
4. "Swag" by Elmore Leonard. Down-and-dirty, this one smokes front to back, and the voice is one of a kind.
5. "Clockers" by Richard Price. My generation's "Grapes of Wrath."
A CLASSIC YOU'VE REVISITED WITH DISAPPOINTMENT: "The Godfather" by Mario Puzo. Except for the page that features Sonny and the bridesmaid. That page never disappoints.
A BOOK YOU HOPE PARENTS READ TO THEIR KIDS: "True Grit" by Charles Portis. A great adult novel with a strong, teenage female protagonist.
***Interesting choices... I'm surprised Pelecanos did not include Newton Thornburg's "Cutter and Bone" for which he wrote an introduction for a reissue.
Michael
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